Fuel-feeder



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. L. DAY.

- EUEL EEEEEE. No. 603,077. Patented Apr. 26, 1898.

Wiifiamea: a fnveniozi' kw WrnC/S' IEEE trips.

PATENT HENRY L. DAY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

FU EL-FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,077, dated April26, 1898.

Application filed $eptember 21 1897 Serial No. 652,408. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY L. DAY, of the city of Minneapolis, county ofHennepin, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fuel-Feeders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a device designed. forautomatically delivering fuel to furnaces; and the object I have in viewis to provide a simple and econom-- ical device which may be used forfeeding shavings, fine coal, dust, or other light or fine material tofurnaces.

The invention consists generally in means for producing an air-belt orcontinuous aircurrent, with means for supplying the fuel to the currentat some convenient point, and means for separating the fuel from thecurrent and delivering it to the furnace, whereby if any of the finematerial is not separated from the air-current it is carried aroundagain by the current to the point where the fuel is supplied and then tothe point where the fuel is separated from the current. Thus none of thedust or light material is permitted to escape into the atmosphere orinto the room where the apparatus is located.

The invention consists, further, in the con structions and combinationshereinafter de scribed, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure l is a front elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention,showing the arrangement in connection with a suitable furnace. Figs. 2and 3 are detail sections of the means for creating the continuousair-current and separating the fuel therefrom. Fig. 4 is a plan view ofthe apparatus shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same,the front end of the furnace being shown in section.

In the drawings, 2 represents a portion of a suitable furnace which maybe of any o1-di nary or preferred construction and into which the fuelis to be fed.

5 represents a suitable reservoir or hopper, also of any preferred size,shape, or construction, and into which the fuel is placed and from whichit is fed, preferably by gravity. Arranged below the hopper is aconveyertrough 7, within which is a suitable con veyer 9. This ispreferably of ordinary spiral form, the shaft of which extends throughthe end of the conveyer-trough and is provided with a suitablebelt-pulley 11, to which power may be applied for turning the conveyer.The bottom of the hopper 5 is preferably formed with a gate orslide-bottom 13. This bottom may be provided upon its under surface witha series of teeth 15, engaging a pinion 17, which is adapted to beoperated by a suitable handle 19. By this means the slide may be openedor closed to a greater or less extent for the purpose of regulating thepassage of the fuel from the hopper into the conveyer-trough. The end ofthe conveyertrough is preferably provided with a depression or pocket21, and air pipes or conductors 23 and 25 are connected to the oppositesides of this pocket. The pipes 23 and 25 extend to a suitable fan orblower case 27, the pipe 23 connecting with the eye or center of thecase and the pipe 25 being connected to the exit part of the case.-Arranged within the case 27 is a suitable fan 31, having its shaft 33extending through the wall of the casing and provided with a suitablepulley, to which a belt 35 is connected. This belt extends to acounter-shaft 37, engaging a pulley 39 thereon, and from the shaft 37 abelt 41 also extends to the pulley 11 of the conveyer hereinbeforereferred to. Power may be applied to the shaft 37 through any suitablemeans.

The fan-case 27 is provided with the spirally-arranged wall 4:3, asshown in Fig. 2. This wall forms a spiral duct 45, leading from thecenter portion of the fan-casing and having an unbroken peripheralsurface. The duct &5, after extending substantially around the innerportion of the fan-casing, is divided into two parts by thedivision-Waller. These two parts I designate as the outer duct 49 andthe inner duct 50. The outer duct 49 leads into an expansion-chamber 51,which connects with a pipe 53, that extends into an opening in the wallof the furnace. The lower end of this pipe is preferably provided withthe two oppositely-hinged sections 57 and 59, (see Fig. 5,) and thejointed portions 100 of the pipe permit of its lower end being insertedinto the opening 55 or withdrawn therefrom. A return-pipe 61 leads outof the expension-chamber 51 back to the eye of the fan-casing, as shownin detail in Fig. 3. An adjustable valve 63 is arranged in thereturnpipe 61 and is provided with a handle 65, extending outside of thepipe and adapted to engage a notched segment 67, by means of which itmay be held in any desired position. This valve may be closed or it maybe set open or partially open, so as to permit a greater or less amountof air from the eXpan sion-chamber 51 to be drawn back into thefan-case.

The air-current passing through the pipe 23 into the eye of thefan-casing will carry with it the fine fuel that has before entered thecurrent from the hopper 5. The air and the fine material mingled with itwillbe driven through the spiral duct 45, and the solid particles andmaterial will, by centrifugal force, be driven against the peripheralwall of the duct and will travel along this wall and will be taken outby the separating-plate 47 and directed through the duct 49 into theexpansion-chamber 51. The principal portion of the air-current will passthrough the duct 50 into the pipe 25, and from this pipe again into thepipe 23, after taking up a further supply of material from the pocket21. As the air from the fan-casing and the material mingled with it passinto the expansion-chamber 21 the air will be considerably expanded andthe fine fuel or material will drop directly into the pipe 53, and byhaving the valve 63 partially open a considerable portion of the airwill pass back into the fan-case through the pipe 61. It will beunderstood that while the air-current through the pipes 23 and 25 is acontinuous one some portion of the air will pass from theexpansion-chamber 51 through the pipe 53 into the furnace, and it istherefore necessary to supply a corresponding amount of air to take itsplace. This is accomplished by means of a pipe 69, that is connected tothe pipe 25, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5. This pipe preferably isconnected to a heater '71, so that the air passing into the pipe 25through the pipe 69 will be previouslyheated. By this means heated airwill be supplied to the furnace through the pipe 53.

I may arrange an automatic valve or damper '73 in the pipe 53, as shownin Fig. 2. This valve is provided outside of the pipe with a weightedarm 75, which tends to hold it in a closed position. As the air and finefuel carried thereby enter the expansionchamber 51 the fine fuel will beprecipitated, as above explained, and will drop into the lower part ofthe expansion-chamber and the upper part of the pipe 53. The force ofthe air-current and the weight of the material passing into the pipe 53will open the damper 73 and the material will pass below said valve andenter the furnace. The valve or damper '73 serves as a safety device inthe pipe and prevents any material there may be in the pipe from gettingon fire should the air-current be shut off and the lower end of the pipe53 not be removed from the opening in the furnace-wall.

When the device is not in use, the lower end of the pipe 53 willpreferably be removed from the opening in the wall in the furnace, thehinged sections permitting such movement of the pipe.

WVhile I have shown the pocket 2l,to which the pipes or conductors 23and 25 are both connected, it will be readily understood that thispocket may be omitted, and the pipes 23 and 25 are joined together orformed as one continuous pipe, in which case provision may be made forfeeding the material directly into the pipe.

I do not limit myself to the details of the construction of the deviceherein shown and described, as obviously the same may be varied in manyparticulars without departing from my invention.

I claim as my invention 1. Means for feeding fuel to furnaces,comprising, in combination, a suitable fan or blower, air-conductorsconnected to the inlet and out-let of the casing of said fan or blowerand communicating with each other, means for directing fuel into saidair-conductors, means located in said fan-casing for separating the fuelfrom the air-current, and means for directing said fuel into a suitablefurnace. for the purpose set forth.

2. Means for feeding fuel to furnaces, comprising, in combination, asuitable fan or blower, a fan-casing provided with a spiral duct leadingfrom its central portion and having an unbroken peripheral surface, asuitable wall dividing said duct into an outer and an inner part, a pipeor conductor connected to the inner part of said duct and communicatin gwith a pipe or conductor leading to the inlet of the fan-casing, meansfor feeding fuel into said conductors and means fordirecting the fuelfrom the outer part of said duct into a suitable furnace.

3. Means for feeding fuel to furnaces, comprising, in combination, asuitable fan or blower, a fan-casing provided with a spiral wall 43forming a spiral duct 45 having an unbroken peripheral surface dividedby the wall 47 into an inner duct 50 and an outer duct 49, anair-conductor 25 connected to the duct 50, an air-conductor 23 withwhich the conductor 25 communicates, said conductor 23 leading into theinlet of the fan-casing, a pipe 53 connected to the outer duct 49 andarranged to conduct material received therefrom into a suitable furnace,and means for feeding fuelinto the conductor 23, for the purpose setforth.

4. Means for feeding fuel to furnaces, comprising, in combination, asuitable fan or blower, a fan-casing provided with a spiral wall 43forming a spiral duct 45, the transverse Wall 47 dividing said duct intoinner and outer ducts 50 and 49, the fuel hopper and pocket 21, theair-conductor 25 leading from the duct 50 to said pocket, theair-conductor 23 leading from said pocket to the in let of thefan-casing, the expansion-chamber 51 With which the duct 49communicates, and a pipe leading from said expansion-chamber to asuitable furnace.

5. Means for feeding fuel to furnaces, comprising, in combination, asuitable fan or blower, a fan-casing provided with a spiral duet leadingfrom its central portion and having an unbroken peripheral surface, asuitable wall dividing the said duct into an outer and innerpart, anair-conductor connected to the inner part of said duct and communieatingwith another conductor that leads to HENRY L. DAY.

In presence of- A. 0. PAUL, M. E. GOOLEY.

